Five

It's a gloomy Monday here today.

So I thought I'd share with you a little video that never fails to
brighten my day.

It was inspired by a little book that is on my list to pick up if I ever see it while I'm out and about.





Five years...

Here are 5 things that I am aiming for in my next 5 years.

I hope to finally find the house that will become a home for my family.

I'd like to push myself to become more involved in my new community and get to know my neighbours.

I'd love to learn how to kayak.

I hope to have creativity in my life and be making art.

And probably the most difficult, yet rewarding, task will be to raise a happy, healthy, and decently behaved 6 year old boy.

However many plans and goals we may have, life seems to have a way of not turning out how we expected - at least for me anyway.

The saying "everything happens for a reason" holds true for me and I believe that I am exactly where I am supposed to be...

...and I look forward to where I am going.

Where will you be five years from today?

I think that's a good question to ask along the way.

If you'd like to share your answers, let me know below.

Thanks for dropping by.

The Creation of Cottage Chairs

Ok let's get to it and have another look behind the easel...

Today's drawing is

Cottage Chairs

When I was a little girl, my Mom and I started renting a friend's family cottage.

I've been going back there for a week every summer since then.

My husband and I went there for our honeymoon.

The cottage is right on Lake Huron and is home to these unique chairs built for two, which overlook the shore.

Here's a look at the beginnings of this drawing...

 

Next, the chairs are more developed and receive more detail.

I also started to incorporate some beach grass and vegetation, but in the finished product you'll notice that they've dissappeared.

While developing this drawing, I thought that the plantlife became a distraction.  So I removed them to place more emphasis on the chairs.

The addition of swirls at the foreground transforms the piece from a picture of chairs into an image that is more imaginative.

Here's the end result...

What do you think of this drawing?

Any thoughts are much appreciated in the comments section below...

Thanks for stopping by!

Oliver's Easel Update

Just a quick post to let you know that I've updated the

Oliver's Easel

tab at the top of the page.

There you will find some of Ollie's first creative experiences...

...such as, colouring with his new Tadoodles crayons made by Crayola.

Their shape makes it easier for little hands to grasp.

He wasn't too sure about them at first.

I think they look like "suckies" (pacifiers) to him, so he tried to eat the crayon points...

But he was able to make some lovely red marks before he lost interest!

Remembering Paradise

As I'm sitting here enjoying my morning coffee I have a beautiful view of...

snow.

Yesterday, we made it back from Florida...

...back to reality, responsibilities, and Winter.

So, I'd like to take a moment and remember the warm sunny paradise that we were able to call home for a little while.

Here's a look...

The front entrance...

Drive on in!

Take a look down the street.

I am in love with our sunny seashell bedroom in the condo.

 The room has white bamboo inspired furniture.

This is the matching dresser with seashell lamp.






























The clubhouse is where the pool, hot tub, snacks, games, and more can be found.

 A pair of ducks are swimming on the nearby pond.

So much wildlife can be seen here, such as this Great Blue Heron.

No Gator sightings though!



























This nifty water pipe thing is right outside our condo.

That's the bay window of our dining room  - pink building, top right.

It's very interesting...

...here's a closer look.

The best part of the condo is the big open living space.

While we were there, Oliver had a great time crawling everywhere and exploring everything.

He sure did work up an appetite...

Thanks for stopping by.

Where does all the food go?

There are so many different restaurants in the United States that we don't have in Canada.

Yesterday, was my first time (and Oliver's too) eating breakfast at Bob Evan's.

The lady sitting at the next table was shocked at how much Oliver ate off of our plates!  We might have to start ordering a whole meal for him.

He's such a good eater and loves to try everything!

I don't know where he puts it all - you'd think he'd weigh twice as much as he does by the way he eats.



Our trip here in Kissimmiee, Florida would not be complete without a stop at Old Town.

It's a little amusement park and small town street full of neat shops.

Oliver enjoyed the sights and sounds from the stroller...

 

...and took a little snooze.

We were able to find a snazzy collar for our dog.

Hopefully she's having a blast playing with all of the other pooches at the kennel back home.

We definitely miss her!

At the end of our visit, we were going to take a spin on the carousel, but they weren't quite open yet.

Maybe next year!

Grandma & Oliver

After an afternoon by the pool, Ollie's little swimsuit was hung up to dry...

Then we had a homemade hamburger dinner and Grandpa Sam and Daddy took their places in the living room...

...but that's ok - we had some help cleaning up the kitchen.

Tonight will be another new restaruant experience for me.  We're heading off to Cracker Barrell... and I think we'll be ordering Oliver his own meal.

Thanks for dropping by.

Always follow rule number 7

Oliver's rubber ducky had a great day today.

He's been enjoying the Florida sun from the window sill in the bathroom...

...and he loved playing in the pool with Oliver!

 

My mom and I found this baby floatie... and of course, we picked out the one with duckies on it!

We also came across the perfect fabric for Ollie's future big boy room, which

- when we find the house -

will be white and navy with a few red accents and a nautical, beachy feel.

I also found on sale for 40% off a row of three star hooks - it was the last one there!

 

Oh by the way,

we followed all of the pool rules today

especially number 7

Thanks for dropping in.

Oliver goes International

Right now, Chris and I are sitting outside in our bathing suits...

We just took a dip in the hot tub and are now enjoying this beautiful Florida evening on the clubhouse patio.

Okay, I won't rub it in anymore.

Oliver went to bed right after dinner and is now sound asleep...
What a big day for our little traveller - it was his first airplane ride!

I was definitely nervous about taking an infant on an airplane.

There was a lot of crying and screaming on the flight... but it wasn't my baby!

We gave him a bottle of juice just to help with his ears popping,

but he fell asleep before the plane even took off.

I thought the LOUD roaring of the plane taking off would wake him up for sure...

Nope.  He was out cold and stayed that way for half the flight.

He spent the other half laughing, smiling, and melting the hearts of all the ladies around us.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dinner and a corny joke

Last night at 4:30pm I realized that I had not even begun to think of dinner.

Pasta is quick to prepare, so maybe spaghetti?

Well, all the ground beef was in the freezer and I hate thawing in the microwave  - never really works the way I want it to.

So, besides left over roast beef (which I like to use in shepherd's pie),

the only meat in my fridge was bacon.

Free bacon photo can be found here

Of course, I was thinking...

Pasta + Bacon = Carbonara
 
Perfect! It is one of Chris' favourites, but I had never made carbonara before...
how difficult could it be?!

Well, I found out that it is extremely easy using
this recipe on one of my favourite websites www.allrecipes.ca

We were done eating by 5:30pm!  And it was SO good.

I'm definitely saving this recipe.


Today, I am measuring suitcases... why?
Because tomorrow we are headed to...

Florida!

We're leaving tomorrow VERY early in the morning...

... and soon, we'll be "bacon" in the sun!
(sorry, I couldn't resist)

Thanks for stopping in.